Tomato Cultivar Taste Evaluations, 2008–2011

Peter Nitzsche, Agricultural Agent
Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Morris County

Tomato cultivar taste evaluations are conducted annually at the Great Tomato Tasting Event. Attendees are asked to taste tomatoes and rate several attributes on a 1–7 Likert scale (1= dislike very much, 4 = neither liked nor dislike, 7 = like very much). Below are the results of these informal taste evaluations.

Tomato Taste Evaluation - August 27, 2008
Cultivar	Mean of Likert Rating
Cultivar	Sweetness	Acidity	Flavor	Texture	Overall
BHN 589	4.49	4.50	4.66	5.01	4.86
Jet Star	4.01	3.91	4.09	4.27	4.18
Ramapo	3.88	3.94	3.99	4.11	4.10
Moreton	5.10	4.65	5.24	5.00	5.30
Number of people surveyed size = 298

Tomato Taste Evaluation - August 26, 2009
Cultivar	Mean of Likert Rating
Cultivar	Sweetness	Acidity	Flavor	Texture	Overall
Cherry Pie	5.72	4.89	5.67	5.46	5.68
Seminis 9137	5.35	4.67	5.16	5.32	5.20
Jolly Elf	4.39	4.16	4.27	4.45	4.48
BHN 589	4.53	4.49	4.78	4.88	4.96
Box Car Willie	4.10	4.05	4.25	4.10	4.26
Fla 47	3.86	4.08	3.97	4.16	4.06
Number of people surveyed = 150
Moreton	4.82	4.60	5.00	4.66	5.17
Early Girl	5.00	4.76	5.18	4.88	5.16
Early Goliath	5.14	4.64	4.96	5.02	5.10
Legend	3.73	3.75	3.70	3.31	3.87
Sunshine	3.65	3.66	3.59	3.73	3.85
BHN 189	3.29	3.52	3.19	3.15	3.38
Number of people surveyed = 50

Tomato Taste Evaluation – September 1, 2010
Cultivar	Mean of Likert Rating
Cultivar	Sweetness	Acidity	Flavor	Texture	Overall
Tasti-Lee	3.49	3.52	3.48	4.24	3.73
BHN 589	3.90	4.04	4.09	4.71	4.26
BHN 961	4.08	3.85	4.13	4.74	4.36
BHN 826	4.47	3.99	4.53	5.17	4.78
Ramapo	4.30	4.30	4.34	4.67	4.45
Fabulous	4.06	3.83	4.01	4.73	4.27
Number of people surveyed = 180

Tomato Taste Evaluation – August 31, 2011
Cultivar	Mean of Likert Rating
Cultivar	Sweetness	Acidity	Flavor	Texture	Overall
Sweet Hearts	4.84	4.54	4.88	5.27	4.99
Smarty	5.01	4.25	4.84	5.06	4.96
Cupid	4.53	4.32	4.59	4.85	4.73
Amai	4.14	3.91	4.13	4.34	4.24
Montesino	4.92	4.66	4.80	4.93	4.88
Number of people surveyed = 185